Hatched

Chapter Eighteen

June 30th, 2021

2200 hours

"I need a beer." Shepp yawned, shifting in his seat as he stared at the monitors propped up on the desk in the security office. It was late, and he was beyond exhausted from days of not sleeping. A coffee pot in the corner had been on continuous brew since that morning, though it didn't seem to help. He could probably bleed caffeine by now and still not have enough energy to function.

"I thought you didn't drink." Gordon grumbled from the chair next to him, his watchful eyes trained on the feed from Lynne's office.

"I don't, but now seems as good a time as any to start." Shepp shrugged indifferently. "Though something stronger than beer would probably do the trick."

"That would knock you right out, but I wouldn't say no to a cold one, either. Alcohol might make this more interesting, but I doubt it. I don't understand why we don't have shorter watch shifts."

"Don't complain, Gordon." Shepp cast him a warning glance. "Quinn probably has our office bugged."

Gordon lazily glanced around the room, waving a dismissive hand. "So, what? Maybe he needs to hear what we're saying." His tone was disconcerted, but Shepp knew better: he wasn't worried, because Quinn trusted them.

"The shifts are long for us because he can't trust anyone here." Shepp pointed out, gesturing to the monitors. "How are your subjects?"

"They've been asleep, or in the mess hall watching the ball game, for hours." Gordon supplied, nodding his head toward the computers Shepp oversaw. "What about yours?"

Shepp leaned forward, rubbing his eyes vigorously, focusing his blurry vision. "The halls are quiet."

"What about them?" Gordon gestured to three dark, obscure figures on a screen in front of Shepp. The people were on the rig platform, near the railing overlooking the ocean, fumbling around with what appeared to be diving equipment. Two were dark haired, one husky and the other taller, but not much taller than the light-haired, feminine figure that accompanied them. "What are they doing?"

"Diving. What's it look like?" Shepp shot Gordon a look of disbelief, wondering why Quinn assigned him to the case. "You aren't always this dense, are you?"

They'd only worked together occasionally, most of the time only when Quinn requested their assignment, but Shepp was always the one by their boss' side. He didn't know if it was just because they'd grown up together, their time in the service, or the fact they'd gone through the academy at the same time; whatever the reason, he was grateful toward the agent for considering him a close confidant. To be paired with another agent for most of the cases he worked was atypical, and reflected highly on him, considering Quinn's excellent track record for cases closed.

Gordon glared back. "I know they're diving; I was wondering why?"

Shepp gave an awkward shrug, arms pinned to the chair sides: he was leaned back in his seat again, watching the platform to make sure no wandering bodies stumbled upon the rest of their party.

"I think Quinn wanted a sample from the valves."

"Hmm." Gordon's mouth twisted in thought, his hand rubbing his chin. "What do they need a sample of? Why is it important to the investigation?"

"Gordon, you know damn well Quinn doesn't divulge half of what he's planning to us. I'm willing to bet, he hasn't told them either." He gestured to the silhouettes of the lieutenant and the biologist.

"He had to tell her something, to get her to go down there with him."

"You think he actually asked?" Shepp laughed, shaking his head. "She went because he told her to."